Tag Archives: French
French defence minister in Jordan to visit troops fighting IS
France’s defence minister arrived in Jordan on Monday to visit troops battling the Islamic State group, showing Paris’s determination to continue the fight after a shock US decision to withdraw from Syria. After a stopover in Amman, where Florence Parly is set to meet with Jordanian Prime Minister Omar al-Razzaz, she is expected to visit the H5 airbase from which French fighter jets take off for sorties against the jihadists. The minister’s last-minute trip to Jordan comes on the heels of US President Donald Trump’s surprise decision in mid-December to pull out all 2,000 American troops stationed in Syria, saying “we’ve won” against IS.
'My second family': French protesters band together for Christmas
The protests against President Emmanuel Macron may have eased in the run-up to Christmas, but dozens of demonstrators camped out at roundabouts across France are vowing to keep up the pressure, with no plans to head home for the holidays. Devilled eggs, foie gras and a traditional buche de Noel cake for dessert: “We wouldn’t have all this if we celebrated Christmas at home,” said Xavier, a 44-year-old at a roundabout in Somain, northern France.
French city honors victims of Christmas market attack
French 'yellow vests' protest in their thousands for fifth Saturday
In Paris, police were out in force to contain outbursts of violence. Police fired water cannon and teargas in the afternoon to disperse groups of protesters in sporadic, brief clashes with riot police on the Champs-Elysees and adjacent streets. Topless feminist activists braved the cold to face off with security forces, a few meters away from the Elysee Palace, the president’s residence.
PHOTOS: French police kill suspect in Strasbourg Christmas market attack
French president to meet relatives of victims of Christmas market shooting
French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Strasbourg Friday evening to pay his respects to the victims of a jihadist gunman who was himself later shot dead by police. Macron, who earlier in the day took part in a European Union summit in Brussels, was to meet with families of the victims and with police involved in the manhunt for 29-year-old Cherif Chekatt, a small-time criminal turned jihadist who went on a shooting spray Tuesday evening in Strasbourg’s famed Christmas market. Police finally caught up with him Thursday evening when he was killed after opening fire on a street police patrol.
Gunman kills three people in French Christmas market, flees
Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said the shooter had evaded a police dragnet and was on the run, raising concerns of a follow-up attack. “The government has raised its security threat to the highest level and is bolstering border controls,” Castaner told a late-night news conference. “We will also reinforce security at all Christmas markets to prevent copycat attacks.” With France still on high alert after a wave of attacks commissioned or inspired by Islamic State militants since early 2015, the counter-terrorism prosecutor opened an investigation.
Gunman kills at least two in French Christmas market and flees
Attack at Christmas market in French city kills 3, wounds 12
STRASBOURG, France (AP) — A man who had been flagged as a possible extremist sprayed gunfire near the famous Christmas market in the French city of Strasbourg on Tuesday, killing three people, wounding up to a dozen and sparking a massive manhunt when he got away. France immediately raised its terror alert level.